04 janvier 2014

Final Words on Sharon By Miko Peled

I never understood how people could rejoice at the news of a person’s
death. I happened to be in the UK when Margaret Thatcher died so I
witnessed the celebrations. The expressions of joy as the news of the
Iron Lady’s death spread around the country shocked me at first, as
people were actually throwing parties to celebrate her death. As I
visited different parts of the country, particularly Wales and Ireland,
it occurred to me that when Ariel Sharon dies we may see similar
outbursts of joy taking place.
Sharon has been in a coma since January 2006 when he suffered several
brain hemorrhages that left him in a vegetative state. But now there is
news that his kidneys are failing and concerns are expressed in Israel
that there is a chance he will die soon.
One can imagine the long eulogies we will have to endure once he is
laid to rest: “A hero,” “a great leader,” “a military genius,” all of
this will be said and more. The press will recount every military
achievement, ever battle he won, every enemy, both military and
political that he defeated. His resolve as Israel’s leader will be
heralded, and, we will be told, he will be remembered for giving his all
to his country.
In my book, The General’s Son, Journey of an Israeli in Palestine, I
mention Sharon several times, in his capacity as a military man who was
cruel, brilliant and reckless, then as defense minister and finally as
prime minister. But it is important to set the record straight about
this man before the nauseating outpour of condolences, replete with
hypocrisy and lies, that are sure to follow his death.
Ariel Sharon was an ambitious man. He was brutal, greedy,
uncompromising and dishonest. He possessed an insatiable appetite for
power, glory and fortune. His tendencies as a cold-blooded, merciless
killer were evident from early on in his career when he commanded the
Israeli army’s Unit 101 in the 1950’s. Unit 101 was an infamous commando
brigade with special license to kill and terrorize Palestinians. It
operated mostly in Gaza, but also in other parts of the country and
beyond. Unit 101 was so brutal in its practices, and claimed so many
innocent lives, that even by Israeli standards it was thought to have
gone too far and the unit was eventually disbanded.
Sharon went on to be promoted to other commands in the Israeli army
earning a name for himself as a promising commander and all were
expecting that he would one day be the Israeli army’s top commander, or
Chief of Staff. But this was one job he never got, he did better. Sharon
entered politics and was nominated to be Defense Minister under Prime
Minister Menachem Begin. In that capacity he lead Israel’s catastrophic
invasion of Lebanon in 1982.
This invasion left countless Lebanese and Palestinians dead, wounded
and displaced. Sharon was also behind the massacres that took place in
September of that year in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps near
Beirut, and here once again, even by Israeli standards Sharon had gone
too far and was removed from office.
Though Sharon was reprimanded for his role in the Sabra and Shatila
massacre, and was prevented from serving as defense minister, his
political career continued nevertheless and his sphere of influence
grew. As minster of Housing and Development he contributed more than any
other to the racist, anti Palestinian policies and the corruption
within the ministry. It is claimed that during his tenure the ministry’s
budget was without limits, exceeding Israel’s entire defense budget. He
used his full weight to achieve the colonization and displacement
Palestinians from what used to be the West Bank.
Surely the most absurd thing ever said about Sharon, is that he was a
man of peace. That he “left” Gaza and that he “gave” Gaza back to the
Palestinians. That he did it for peace and in return all Israel received
were rockets fired from Gaza. The Israeli disengagement from Gaza was a
cynical, unilateral move. It allowed Sharon to get the Israeli settlers
in Gaza out of his way, close Gaza like a prison and score a few
political points with the US administration. It was a cruel move that
allowed him to further suffocate the people of Gaza, people that he was
determined to destroy from early on in his violent career. But the proud
Palestinians would not surrender and served as a constant reminder of
the blood with which his hands are stained.
One could go on and on about Sharon and his crimes. As he lay dying,
perhaps within days or minutes of his final breath, we must all remember
his victims, the countless dead, wounded and displaced and remind the
world that this man was not a hero but a criminal.
As I write these words Ariel Sharon is still alive, if one can call
it that, and in many ways the state in which he lives now could be the
hell he so richly deserves.